Oblivious

Chapter 6: Bandits and Uncovered Secrets

The new found hope made both Arthur and Merlin careless where they should have been vigilant. Balinor did not have this excuse, but thoughts of returning to civilisation after so many years of isolation made him oblivious to anything else. Under normal circumstances, Arthur would have noticed the bandits following them but the constantly changing emotions from disbelief, despair, hope, despair again and finally relief meant he did not realise they were going to be attacked until the bandits leapt out, swords poised to strike.

Arthur and Balinor, who had both been trained for these kinds of situation, reacted quickly getting themselves and their weapons into defensive positions. It took Merlin a little longer to fumble around with his own sword, but the bandits, probably seeing him as the weaker threat, mostly ignored him.

The two experienced swordsmen successfully held their own, moving swiftly from defensive to offensive and starting to dispatch their opponents. Merlin on the other hand defended himself clumsily to the best of his limited ability, his blocks barely stopping the weapons of the man attacking him. He wouldn't last much longer, the bandit was stronger and a better fighter than him.

Arthur, having few problems with his own enemies, glanced over concernedly at Merlin just in time to see the metal blade soaring through the air as Merlin's weapon was knocked from his grip. His hands raised in self-defence did not appear to placate the smug bandit. He raised his sword to strike.

Time appeared to slow to a snail's pace; Merlin saw Arthur's look of horror and then the blade descending towards him, too close for him to escape.

He closed his eyes. He breathed in. His heart thudded. And he said the words that would both save him and condemn him.

Mid-swing the bandit was flung back by an invisible force, crashing hard into a tree. Gold eyes flashed and dimmed going back to their original blue. The clearing was silent, the clanging of metal on metal ringed into the air and stopped.

"Sorcerer." The lead bandit whispered to himself. The attack had not gone to plan at all, the targets had proved themselves formidable opponents unlike their appearances had indicated and now one revealed his ability for magic. To defeat a sorcerer you needed either another sorcerer or enough people to overwhelm him/her. Looking around him, the bandit saw his fellows dead, injured or who were close to giving up. They had no chance. "Retreat!" He shouted. Balinor and Arthur both struck with surprise were unable to do anything as the remainder of their attackers melted into the gloom of the woods.

Balinor recovered first, settling into an expression of mild amusement, it wasn't every day that a high-ranking servant in a kingdom renowned for its hatred of magic was found to be practicing the banned art. Arthur however was not so forgiving. He was furious.

Without much thought other than what he had seen with his own eyes, Arthur surged forwards to hold the sword to his friend's throat.

Merlin seriously began to wonder why people were so obsessed with waving sharp pointy objects as each other. Really if they wanted to kill one another why didn't they just do it instead of standing there shouting or waiting quietly as Arthur did now.

He wasn't sure if Arthur was trying to control his temper or waiting for an explanation. It was unnerving, and it would have been a lie for him to deny being slightly scared. Whatever the reason though, Merlin remained silent. Several spells came to mind which would force the prince to drop his sword but he hesitated to use any. Balinor stood at the side looking indecisive, unsure as to whether he should intervene. Merlin was glad he hadn't done anything, this revelation had been coming for a long time and it was a matter between him and the prince, not something an outsider should interfere with.

"You've lied to me." Arthur finally spoke, unnaturally cold, Merlin could find no response, after all, it was the truth. "All this time and I didn't realise." He no longer spoke to Merlin, berating himself for not noticing the true nature of his servant before. "A sorcerer. Sorcerer."

"Warlock." Merlin interrupted as loudly as he dared. Arthur looked at him incredulously for his further self-condemnation.

"A what?"

"I'm a warlock. Not a sorcerer. There's a distinct difference." Merlin hoped that he sounded more confident than he felt because at the moment he felt like he was going to melt into a puddle of magic from the murderous heat of the glare Arthur was sending him.

"What difference does that make? Is one more evil and damned than the other?" Arthur snarled in response, his sword slipping closer.

"Warlocks are born with magic, sorcerers have to be trained. Warlocks are supposedly rarer and more powerful." Balinor spoke for the first time since the bandits had attacked and he eyed Merlin with newfound respect.

"So all powerful Merlin, have you been the one leading the attacks on me? Or have you just assisted?"

"Neither!" Merlin shouted in frustration. "All I've ever done is to help!" Ignoring him, Arthur continued having lowered his sword and turned away.

"You have violated the law of Camelot and will be dealt with as appropriate. Once the dragon has been defeated you will be tried for sorcery." He looked back at Merlin and finished scathingly, "and don't worry, I'll make sure you're tried as a warlock."

The prince marched off, "We've wasted enough time. The sooner we get to Camelot the sooner the dragon will die." And the sooner Merlin would have to face Uther's wrath.

He could run away. It would be easy. A temporary paralysis spell on both Arthur and Balinor then he could leave. It would give him a decent head start at the very least. But Merlin was the one who had released the dragon despite common sense telling him not to, and so it was his responsibility to make sure that his wrong was put right.

It was the betrayal and the lies that were the worst part in Arthur's opinion. Admittedly the threat with the sword might have been a slight overreaction but nonetheless it was necessary. Arthur was the Crown Prince of Camelot, he had to obey the laws as well as anybody else. No one was exempt. Not the King and not Merlin, no matter how powerful he might be.

He would have overlooked the law for a friend, if the next day Gwen admitted to him of being able to speak to fish he would overlook the law for her. But Merlin had lied. He had only admitted the truth when backed into a corner and with no other option. And if he had lied about sorcery, what else had he lied about? Was anything the truth?

Without trust there cannot be a friendship. If you cannot believe a word from your friend's mouth how can you trust them?

Arthur could not simply take Merlin's word for it that "All he'd done was help" he would have to investigate and until then believe the worst.

AN: Re-uploaded 27/05/2018 with a spelling/grammatical correction made.